Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Free Covid Tests, Prison Sentence Pushback & Mariah Makes History
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Schwab.com/plan and BetterHelp.com/newsworthy
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want reading about the latest happenings…
Biden’s Covid Announcements
President Biden spoke about the omicron variant of Covid-19 since it now accounts for most new cases in the U.S. To help fight it, the president said his administration is planning to mail 500 million at-home Covid-19 testing kits, for free, to Americans who request them. A website will be set up next month to take requests. President Biden is also sending federal emergency response teams to six states where hospitals are overwhelmed with new cases. He told the Pentagon and FEMA to get ready to be sent to hard-hit areas, too.
Read More: Politico, USA Today, NY Times, WSJ, Stat, White House
New Covid Restrictions
Some big American cities are bringing back Covid-19 restrictions. An indoor mask mandate is back in Washington, D.C., and the mayor says city employees will have to be fully vaccinated and boosted with no testing option. The city of Chicago says, starting next month, everyone five and older will need to show proof they’ve been vaccinated to go to places like restaurants or the grocery store. In Los Angeles, city officials say their New Year’s Eve party planned for downtown will now only be live-streamed. U.S. officials expect a continued increase of Covid-19 cases throughout the winter.
Read More: CNN, WMAQ, LA Times, WaPo
Secret Service Cracks Down on Fraud
It seems criminals have been taking advantage of Covid-19 relief programs in the U.S. The Secret Service now says people have stolen close to $100 million in pandemic relief funds. They got the money from a few different programs Congress approved, like the one meant to help small businesses and another set up to dole out unemployment assistance. So far, more than $2.3 billion has been recovered, and more than 100 suspects have been arrested. Now, the Secret Service is working to get even more of the money back.
Read More: CNBC, CNN, The Hill, Fox Business, Secret Service
Truck Driver’s Sentence Controversy
Millions of people are pushing to see a truck driver’s 110-year prison sentence reduced. More than 4.5 million people have signed an online petition asking Colorado’s governor to step in and take action in the case. A Colorado prosecutor is also asking the courts to revisit it. She successfully convinced a jury to convict the driver on several charges for his role in a deadly 28-car pile-up. Since then, people from all over have signed the petition, and some other truck drivers are protesting by refusing to drive to Colorado. Rallies are planned, too.
Read More: NPR, Fox News, NBC News, Deseret News, Denver Post, Change.Org
DHS Agents Test Body Cams
For the first time, the Immigration Enforcement Agency (ICE) is going to make some agents start wearing body cameras. It's part of a six-month pilot program meant to figure out the cost and benefits of the technology. During this testing phase, they’ll go to SWAT-like special response teams in a few cities around the country. Those teams focus on crimes like drug and human trafficking as well as fraud. They’ll use the body cams when making pre-planned arrests, questioning suspects, and executing search warrants. Eventually, the agency plans to expand the program to include officers who do regular immigration raids, too.
Read More: The Hill, AP, Forbes, Axios, Newsweek, DHS
CA Solar Farms Approved
Two huge solar farms are being planned for the California desert. The U.S. Interior Department approved them this week for Riverside County, east of Los Angeles. Developers say these farms will generate up to 465 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 132,000 homes. The AP cites officials who say another solar project is also expected to get approval this week that’s as big as the other two combined. The Interior Department also picked out the land for future projects, what they call “solar energy zones,” in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.
Read More: LA Times, Palm Springs Desert Sun, NY Times, AP, DOI
NHL to Skip Olympics
Players with the National Hockey League will no longer be going to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The NHL and their players’ association had agreed last year to give players a break to go to the Beijing Games, but that was only if pandemic conditions didn’t get worse and cause regular-season games to be rescheduled. Well, the NHL has already postponed 50 games because of outbreaks and paused its season early for Christmas Break. So the league will focus on rescheduling games during what would have been the Olympic tournament schedule in mid-February.
Read More: ESPN, USA Today, WSJ, WaPo
FDA Approves HIV Prevention Injection
The FDA gave the green light to the first HIV prevention injection. The drug is called Apretude, and it reduces the risk of getting HIV. Instead of taking a pill every day, people can get the injection every other month. The FDA approved it for at-risk adults and teenagers who weigh at least 77 pounds. It comes after the Biden administration announced a national strategy to try to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic by 2030.
Read More: NBC News, Axios, Reuters, NY Times, FDA
Bagged Salad Recall
You may want to check your fridge before eating packaged salad. The FDA is investigating an outbreak of listeria connected to packaged salads by Fresh Express. So far, 10 people have gotten sick, 10 went to the hospital, and one person died. So now, the Fresh Express salads are being recalled in 19 U.S. states and Canada. The FDA says the illnesses that match the same strain of listeria started as early as July of 2016. They have been reported as recently as last October. There is a full list of the recalled products on the FDA’s website.
Read More: Fox Business, USA Today, CBS News, CNN, FDA
Full List of Recalled Products: Fresh Express Recall
SpaceX Launch/100th Rocket Landing
Astronauts on the International Space Station will be getting some Christmas gifts today, along with food for a holiday feast. The presents went up with other supplies and equipment as part of the latest launch by SpaceX. The mission also gave SpaceX a reason to celebrate beyond the holidays. It was the company’s 100th successful rocket landing. Remember, SpaceX uses reusable rockets. The mission manager called it a big milestone and “critical to lower the cost of spaceflight.”
Read More: Space.Com, Florida Today, AP, CBS News
Mariah Makes History as No. 1 Again
Mariah Carey’s Christmas classic is the gift that keeps on giving and topping charts. Her 1994 single, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is back on top of the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first song in the chart’s history to have led in three distinct runs on the ranking. That means it’s the first to hit No. 1 in three different seasons, going on and off the chart each time. In all, the song spent six weeks total at No. 1. Already, the song helped Carey become the first artist to rank No. 1 on the chart in four different decades.
Read More: Variety, Deadline, Stereogum, Billboard
Work Wednesday: U.S. to Allow More Temp Workers
The U.S. is letting more foreign workers into the country in the hopes of easing a labor shortage. The Department of Homeland Security says it's making another 20,000 guest worker visas available. These kinds of visas are for people who come to the U.S. temporarily to fill jobs as housekeepers, hotel employees, construction workers, and more. The Biden administration says it wants to encourage legal migration. The extra 20,000 will be on top of the 66,000 already set aside for the year. However, even if all the visas end up being used, they’ll make up just a fraction of migrants trying to get into the U.S.
Read More: Axios, CNN, WSJ, Reuters, DHS